Port Mayaca, Eldorado and Palm City Polo Clubs are host qualifying sites for the eighth annual April 3-6 Women’s Championship Tournament at Grand Champions Polo Club.
The opening USPA-sanctioned qualifying tournament is Feb. 21-23 Tabebuia Cup at Port Mayaca Polo Club.
The fifth annual Tabebuia Cup features four teams. On Thursday, Feb. 21, Rude Girls play JRD Saddlery at 11 a.m. and Michelob Ultra, led by 2-goaler Tiffany Busch, plays Port Mayaca at 12:30 p.m.
For the first time the WCT qualifier will also showcase girl players ages 14-and-under in the inaugural two-chukker Bonsai Young Ladies Invitational on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 12:30 p.m.
Allie Azzaro, Brinkley Erb, Izzy Lawn, Hope Arellano, Rachel Kelly, Olivia Johnson, Malia Bryan and Chase Schwartz will compete in the girls tournament. The Tabebuia Cup final follows at 1 p.m.
Eldorado Polo Club in Indio, Calif. will host the March 1-3 Eldorado Women’s Challenge, the second qualifier for west coast players.
The third qualifier will be held at the Palm City Polo Club in Boca Raton. The dates are still to be announced.
The WCT Tournament is the only women’s polo event-of-its-kind in the world.
The four-day event at Grand Champions will showcase the best women’s polo players from around the world. The final and subsidiary final will be held Saturday, April 6.
Last year’s round-robin tournament featured seven teams with players from all over the world including South Africa, Jamaica and Hawaii.
“We are the LPGA of women’s polo,” said WCT founder Sunny Hale. “Women come to play from all over after qualifying.”
Hale and her Goose Creek team won last year’s 3-6 goal championship title with a 5-3 victory over Prima. Hale was named Most Valuable Player after scoring five goals. Hale was joined by Julia Smith, Maureen Brennan and Clarissa Echezaretta on the winning team.
In the 0-2 goal championship final, Speedwell defeated Oakley 8, 7-3. Vero Beach-based Tiffany Busch was named Most Valuable Player. Busch competed in both games.
Hale said in addition to the women’s tournament, a junior girls tournament will be held in conjunction with the event.
Last year a junior girls game was held and attracted several up-and-coming junior players including Mia Cambiaso, the daughter of 10-goaler Adolfo Cambiaso; Jacqui Casey, the daughter of player and top coach Joey Casey; and Riley Ganzi, the daughter of Marc and Melissa Ganzi, all members of the champion Catena team, 1-0 winners over Grand Champions.
Hale is the first woman in U.S. history to win the U.S. Open Polo Championship with Outback in 2000. The seven-time Player of the Year is the most decorated woman’s polo player. Her highest ranking has been five.
The growth of women’s polo is skyrocketing, spearheaded by the Women’s Championship Tournament series founded in 2005 to consolidate women’s polo and promote high quality competition throughout the world.
A Women’s Tournament Committee was created to encourage and increase the participation of women in the USPA, polo’s national governing body, to improve the standard of women’s polo.
The WCT Finals perpetual trophy is on display at the Lake Worth-based National Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame. It was presented to the WCT from Bill Kraft of Catena USA.